Analyst recalls Rutgers' last big moment against Cardinals

Nov. 30, 2012

Written by

Keith Sargeant

@RUScuttlebutt

PISCATAWAY — About a half hour after Rutgers’ thrilling win over Louisville in 2006, former Scarlet Knights coach Greg Schiano summed up the chaotic scene that saw thousands of fans flood the field like this: “It was a little scary at the end with the mob scene, but it was fun. This is the way college football is supposed to be.”

Minutes earlier, Schiano stood in the Rutgers Stadium tunnel and soaked it all in. Standing next to him were a pair of New Jersey state troopers, a media relations associate and one of the tri-state area’s most renowned high school football analysts.

“As the fans came storming on the field, I hugged the wall and turned into the tunnel and there stood Greg,” said longtime MSG Varsity sports guru Mike Quick. “And I’ll never forget the look on his face. I tapped him on his shoulder and said, ‘What do you think?’ And he goes, ‘Just look at that. Look at that.’

“Because you couldn’t even see the field. We were probably five yards deep in the tunnel and you just saw a mass of people. He had a look like a father on Christmas morning who had just made his kids so happy. He created all of that. And, I’ll never forget, he said, “That was my vision.’ ”

Schiano, who left Rutgers after an 11-year stint last January to take the Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coaching job, was replaced by Kyle Flood, who had the Scarlet Knights on the precipice of the program’s first BCS bowl berth Thursday night.

“No one has this picture but I’m telling you it would’ve been one those iconic shots because he’s standing there in the tunnel and all you can see is a mass of humanity in the background,” Quick said. “I guarantee he would have that picture hanging in his office with the Buccaneers. I can close my eyes and still see that moment.”

It was a moment that Quick hoped would happen again Thursday night when the Scarlet Knights played host to Louisville at a soldout High Point Solutions Stadium. With Rutgers needing to beat Louisville to capture the Big East title outright and earn the BCS berth that comes with it, Quick understood a chaotic scene was likely to occur if the Scarlet Knights won.

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Ironically, it was his first time back at High Point Solutions Stadium since the 2006 win over Louisville.

“I pray to God I’m in that same tunnel with Kyle,” said Quick, who has known Flood since the Scarlet skipper arrived at Rutgers as an offensive line coach in 2005. “I have not been to a college football game since that night. I never get a chance because of all the high school stuff. When that schedule came out, I told Kyle when I was at a practice that I would be there for this Thursday night game.”

Asked what it would mean in recruiting terms for Rutgers to earn a BCS berth, Quick said the value of winning a Big East title coupled with last week’s Big Ten announcement would be immeasurable.

“What happened a week ago with Rutgers joining the Big Ten, if they now win Thursday night it’s just rolling,” Quick said. “Because it’s one thing to be able to play in the (mid-level) bowls but it’s another to say, ‘We’re playing in the Orange Bowl’ and we’re going to the Big Ten. They’ve done a good job recruiting, say they’re now keeping the top 15 kids in New Jersey home. If they’re about to keep five or 10 more of the top 50 recruits in the state every year they’re going to challenge for a Big Ten championship.”

“Because, let’s face it, Jersey high school football is as good as anywhere. Everybody is excited about the Big Ten but now if you’re winning and you’re going to the Orange Bowl, that’s the greatest recruiting tool ever.”

MONETARY VALUE: Rutgers had plenty of incentive beat Louisville, but financially-speaking a win was worth $900,000. That’s the difference between the $2.4 million check the Big East pays the team bound for the BCS bowl and the $1.5 consolation prize given to the team headed to the Russell Athletic Bowl in Orlando, Fla.

The Big East, which has a tiered payout-structure for its bowl-bound teams, went into the final weekend of the regular season with Rutgers, Louisville, Cincinnati and Syracuse all bowl-eligible and 5-6 Pittsburgh (which plays at USF) and 5-6 Connecticut (which hosts Cincinnati) needing to win to secure bowl eligibility.

Greene, a strong candidate for Big East Defensive Player of the Year after sharing the award last season, leads the conference with 115 tackles and ranks among the league leaders in sacks (5.5), tackles-for-loss (10), passes defended (7), interceptions (2), fumbles forced (6) and fumbles recovered (2).

Among the highlights on the “Greene is money” bill is the slogan “In Khas we trust,” the block R logo and Greene’s @Khas_Greene20 Twitter handle.

Officials from the Rutgers athletics department will be sending out the promotion to approximately 500 All-America voters in the media next week.

MEDIA BLITZ: In case you were wondering how much buzz was circulating for Rutgers’ nationally-televised affair, consider the 350 media credentials Rutgers issued were the most since the 2006 Rutgers-Louisville game.

The press box also seated 13 NFL personnel evaluators, including three general managers, and officials from four bowls (the Orange, Sugar, Russell Athletic and Belk).

BACK IN BLACK: For the fourth time in school history and for the second time this season, Rutgers wore its all-black uniforms Thursday night versus the all-white clad Cardinals. Rutgers players, who wore the same uniforms for their Oct. 6 win over Connecticut, once again had their motto, F.A.M.I.L.Y., stamped across the back their jerseys where their name typically reads.

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